Posted July 23, 2019 6:01 am by Comments

By Andy Grossman

Henry Side Gate Lever Action

The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular-magazine rifle famed as the iconic Winchester rifle of the American Wild West. Benjamin Tyler Henry designed the rifle in 1860. The original Henry rifle was a sixteen-shot, .44-caliber, rimfire, breech-loading, lever-action rifle, patented in 1860. New Haven Arms Company produced the rifle through 1866. It was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War, favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. The Henry used copper (later brass) rimfire cartridges with a 216-grain bullet over 25-grains of blackpowder.

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Henry Repeating Arms Unveils Side Gate Lever Action Rifle

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Production was very small, between 150 to 200 a month until the middle of 1864. By the end of 1864, production peaked at 290 per month. By the time production ended in 1866, approximately 14,000 units had been manufactured. For a Civil War soldier, owning a Henry rifle was a point of pride. Letters home called them “Sixteen” Shooters. Just 1,731 of the standard rifles were purchased by the government during the Civil War.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky purchased 50 more. However, 6,000 to 7,000 saw use by the Union on …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life

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